


The Best Mistake

by Ayyyy (thatanimelover)



Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: Grand Prix Final Banquet, M/M, literally just posting this because I'm actually never going to continue it
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-12
Updated: 2018-07-12
Packaged: 2019-06-09 14:12:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,642
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15269193
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thatanimelover/pseuds/Ayyyy
Summary: Yuuri wanted to make a good impression. He just hopes no one remembers last year's banquet.





	The Best Mistake

**Author's Note:**

> Hi, ya'll! I'm BBBAAAACCKKK. So, this is, like, really old. I'm only posting it cause I know I'm never going to continue this. So, enjoy my shit writing on an event everyone has already written about before.

     Yuuri was happy. He didn't know when it had happened, but it had.

     For as long as he can remember, Yuuri had never felt completely relaxed, free of the restraints of anxiety. A knife had always hung above his head, ready to cleave his skull as soon as he let his guard down. Said metaphorical knife had never once left him alone. Competitions had been like falling into the pits of hell and walking all the way back up to Earth. Losing competitions had been even worse, and losing the Grand Prix Final the year before had been the worst hell of all.

     Perhaps, though, good things could only happen through struggle. It had been right before the Grand Prix Final that everyone had updated Yuuri on his drunken actions at last year's banquet. It was only after Victor had reassured him several times over and stemmed his anxiety that Yuuri had accepted the consequences of his actions—all of them. After everything was said and done, Yuuri had realized the true significance of that incident. Had Yuuri not lost the Grand Prix Final, he wouldn't have gone to banquet in a state of overwhelming disappointment, which had been the initial reason he had started drinking (no one could deny that Yuuri drank uncontrollably once he started). It was only because he had ended up drunk that he had left a memorable, albiet not entirely  _serious_ , impression in Victor's mind, and it was because of that impression that Victor had decided to coach him a nearly a year later. If Yuuri had to be honest with himself, things could've gone a lot worse than they did. 

     Yuuri had promised himself that he would not drink at this year's banquet. Not only would it save him a world of embarrassment, but it might help him break past Yakov's cautiousness. After all, it was his own fault that Yakov treated him so coldly—colder than his own skaters and their partners, that is. That was manageable, though. He rarely drinks as it is, so it wasn't if it was a hardship for him to avoid the champagne. This year, he promised himself, he would make a good impression on Yakov outside of the rink. And avoid Chris. Yuuri was sure it had been Chris's fault that there had been a pole in the banquet hall the year before, but Victor refused to deny or confirm the assertion.

     "What are you thinking about, Yuuri?" Victor asked quietly as they waited for the hotel elevator to stop on the floor of the banquet hall.

     "About how I want to make a good impression on Yakov this year," Yuuri replied, fidgeting with his shirt sleeve. 

     Their relationship status was another conversation they had tackled before leaving the hotel. Yuuri hadn't known what to think about the rings now that their stated purpose was no longer relevant. Yuuri had not won gold, and, therefore, whether or not he and Victor would get married had been a swirling storm that had left his brain a wreck. Victor, though, had gladly reassured Yuuri that the rings were still as meaningful now as they had been during the competition, but they were never meant to rush into things. They could wait until Yuuri was ready, Victor had said, and Yuuri had been more ready than accept that offering. So they would continue to be fiancees indefinitely. 

     Yuuri snapped back to reality as Victor gave him a confused expression. "What do you mean 'make a good impression'?" Victor asked as he tilted his head. 

     Yuuri held back the urge to laugh at Victor's lost puppy expression. "I mean, think about how Yakov feels about your year off. Yurio was pretty explicit about why  _he_  was angry at me, but I didn't understand until you told me about the banquet why  _Yakov_  was so angry about you having left skating to coach. Now I can see that he was angry at  _me_  because  _you_  left to coach someone who you had only met once. Worst of all, that person had been  _drunk_  the only time you had really interacted with him. Yakov probably wouldn't have been so angry had it been someone you had known for years, such as Yurio, but it was  _me._ I probably made a bad impression on him at last year's banquet. I don't want to do that again this year, especially since I'm going to have to be around him a lot more often this year."

     Victor laughed, much to Yuuri's surprise. "I already knew all of Yakov's complaints and arguments, trust me. I also know for a fact, that despite any original impression you left on him, his impression of you now is in a much more secure position," he reassured Yuuri. 

     Yuuri blushed bright red and looked towards the car window. "Either way, I'm  _definitely_  not drinking at this year's banquet."

     Victor laughed and he swung an arm around Yuuri's shoulder. "Alright, Yuuri. If that's what you want."

     Yuuri gave Victor a smile, his heart speeding up at the sound of Victor's laughter, just as it did every other time. If something hadn't changed,  _it_ had definitely been Yuuri's reactions to Victor, which both annoyed and delighted him to no end. 

     The elevator stopped abruptly, and the door opened. Yuri Plisetsky scowled at the two of them, and said, "How come I always run into your disgustingly lovey-dovey asses everywhere I go?" He stepped into the elevator angrily, Otabek Altin stepping through more calmly behind him.

     "Hi, Yurio! Hello, Otabek!" Victor waved excitedly. 

     "Hello, Yurio. Hello, Otabek," Yuuri greeted in a more subdued manner. 

     Yurio simply scowled at Yuuri and Victor, while Otabek gave both of them a nod.

     Silence reigned for a few seconds until Yurio blushed and asked, "So when's the marriage, then?"

     Yuuri was surprised to hear the question and stared wide-eyed at Yurio. Victor was not quite so shocked and replied, "Postponed indefinitely," with the widest smile anyone but Yuuri had seen on his face.

     "Why are you so happy about it then, you idiot?" Yurio scoffed.

     Victor continued to smile mysteriously. He apparently didn't feel like explaining to Yurio the deeper significance of Yuuri's now-canceled retirement from ice skating, and neither did Yuuri. If they had to be completely honest, though, neither of them thought Yurio stupid and both knew that Yurio had probably already guessed at their earlier problems. 

     Music entered the elevator as the doors opened. All of them stepped out and started walking in the direction of the hall when Phichit came up to them. 

     "Hello, everyone!" Phichit exclaimed. They all stared as he ran up to them. "Are you excited for this? I know I am. I haven't been to one of these before," he stated once he caught up to them. 

     "They're not all that exciting," Yurio stated in a bored voice.

     "That is, unless we're talking about last year," another familiar voice said from behind them. They turned around and saw Chris walking up to them, a smirk on his face.

     It only took a second for Yuuri to register the implication Chris had made, and only another for his face to turn tomato red as he covered his face in his hands. "Please stop," he whimpered as he tried to avoid the memories of that dreaded event last year. "I was very drunk and had no inhibitions left to speak of."

     Yurio gave a smirk and everyone else laughed as they entered the banquet hall. As everyone spread, Yuuri felt someone's arm swing around his shoulders. As he knew very well how Victor's arm felt around his shoulder, he could not help but look at the person who had done so this time. Phichit was staring at Yuuri with a mischievous glint in his eye, and suddenly feared his very existence.

     "So...Yuuri...I hear  _you're_  the life of the party around here. Care to show me how?" Phichit said quietly as he stared plainly at everyone around the room. 

     Yuuri stuck his hand in Phichit face and pushed it away from his shoulder as he blushed. "Shut up, Phichit. I wasn't exactly in a good position at last year's banquet."

     "Oh, I know," Phichit said breezily. "But that means you know how to have a good time, and I want to make an impression on these people." He smiled at Yuuri with a grin on his face, the implication clear in his statement that the impression he wanted to make wasn't exactly  _good_ , and Yuuri  _almost_  gave into Phichit's request. After all, the younger man  _was_  his best friend.  _Almost_. 

     "No, Phichit," Yuuri said with a frown. "I want to make a good impression on Yakov this year. I _can't_ get drunk again this year."

     "But  _Yuuri_!" Phichit exclaimed as he chased behind Yuuri, who was heading in the direction of the Russian ice skating team. 

     "No, Phichit. I can have fun  _after_  the banquet, or  _outside_  of the banquet. But  _I need to make a good impression_ ," Yuuri said with a sigh. 

     Phichit pouted, but took the final answer. "Fine. But all of us are taking a selfie before the banquet ends. And I can still buy you over. The night is young, after all." Phichit winked at Yuuri with a grin on his face before bouncing in the direction of Chris. 

     Yuuri smiled as he watched his friend begin an animated discussion with the Swiss skater before looing back in the direction of the Russian team and heading over there.

     "Yuuri, come over here!" Victor exclaimed, swinging his arm towards their direction in signal. 

     Yuuri felt his heart pound faster, but swallowed the nerves that suddenly hit him and walked towards his fiance. He tried not to watch Yakov's face as he walked in their direction. As soon as he was beside Victor, said man put an arm around his waist and pulled him closer, which only caused Yuuri's heart to speed up more and his palms to start sweating.

     "Yuuri, I never got the chance to formally introduce you, but this is my coach, Yakov," Victor said with a smile on his face as he looked at Yuuri. Yuuri watched the man as he frowned at him.

     "It's good to meet you under less stressful circumstances, Yakov," Yuuri said with a shaky smile plastered on his face. "I'm sorry for all of the trouble I caused you at the Rostelecom Cup."

     Yakov gave Yuuri a cautious glare, before he extended his hand and calmly said, "Likewise, Mr. Katsuki." Then, he gave Yuuri a calculating stare, before asking, "I will not have to deal with any drunk breakdancing or impromptu pole dancing this year, will I?"

     Yuuri felt like he was about to die. He had been hoping the topic wouldn't come up  _at all_ , but apparently fate wasn't letting him out of last year's disaster  _that_  easily. He felt his entire face heat up as he bowed extremely low. "I'm  _so_  sorry about that. I wasn't in a good place last year, and I shouldn't have drunk all of that champagne. I'm completely uncontrollable once I start. Really, I am sorry."

     Suddenly, he heard the man before him laughing, and Yuuri snapped his head upward in shock. He couldn't believe what he was seeing. The same Yakov that never  _once_  gave him a friendly glance was now smiling as laughter escaped his body. It was quite the miracle, in Yuuri's eyes. 

     "I'm glad you accept your mistakes, Mr. Katsuki," Yakov replied once his laughter had calmed down. "I'm happier that your heart seems to be in the right place when certain  _other_  skaters seem to not know which part of their bodies they should be thinking with," he said, glaring at Victor as he did so. Victor smiled at him beatifically before turning back to Mila. 

     Yuuri laughed at Yakov's glare, his heartbeat finally slowing down again. "If I may, the body part you're thinking of is probably the wrong body part." He turned in Victor's direction, giving him a soft smile. "Although he definitely wasn't thinking with his brain, but I guess  _I_ should be happy about that."

     Yuuri heard a gagging noise from behind Yakov and saw Yurio pretending to gag, Otabek smirking beside him. Yuuri wasn't the only one to notice, as Victor turned in his direction and said, "Oi, Yurio, you have a problem there?" He smiled at Yurio sweetly, but Yuuri knew that Victor was warning Yurio. Yurio seemed to notice it as well, as he scowled, but turned away and started talking to a softly smiling Otabek again. Yuuri laughed at the occurrence, but appreciated it nonetheless. He sidled up closer to Victor and continued talking to Yakov.

     "What did you think about the gala performances this year?" He asked Yakov nervously. 

     Yakov raised an eyebrow. "You mean  _your_  exhibition skate?" Yuuri nodded shyly, finding himself blushing again and cursing his anxiety. "Well, for all of Victor's impulsiveness, the gala skate was an excellent performance. I must admit, though, that I found it... intriguing that you chose the duet version of Stammi Vicino."

     Yuuri smiled self-consciously. "We thought it fit well," he stated with a shrug. 

     Yurio spoke up from behind Yakov, "Yeah, since it was  _your_  initial performance of the piece that got all of us into this mess."

     "Oi, you have a problem there, Yurio?" Yuuri said, deciding not to comment on Yurio's statement, but rather to shut him up.

     Unfortunately, that was an immensely bad idea, as Yurio will accept any challenge given to him, and Yuuri had pretty much just created one. "Yeah, I do,  _katsudon_. For one, what's up with your behavior, huh!? One day, the both of you are avoiding looking at each other in the eye, and the next you can't keep your hands off of each other. And what was up with that pair skate, anyway?" 

    Yurio was about to say more, but Otabek covered his mouth and pulled him away before he could start a fight. "I'm sorry, Yuuri."

     Yuuri gave an apologetic smile. "It's okay, Otabek. It was my fault for challenging him."

     Yurio wanted to say something from underneath Otabek's hand, but the Kazakhstan-born skater pulled Yurio away with a nod in Yuuri's direction. Yakov stared at the skater pulling away his protégé from the group and frowned. "Since when have they been together?"

     Yuuri and Victor started laughing as Mila began her explanation. "Otabek Altin was in the same skating camp as Yuri. They began their friendship before the competition started. I don't believe they're together," Mila said with a soft smile on her face.

     "Yet," Yuuri and Victor both muttered under their breaths. Mila merely glared at them before turning back to Yakov. 

     Yakov nodded in understanding and looked as if he was about to say something else when Phichit and Chris walked up to both Yuuri and Victor. Yuuri stared at Phichit cautiously, but, luckily for  _everyone_ , it looked like he hadn't touched the alcohol just yet. 

     "Guys, we're getting all of the skaters together to take a selfie!" Phichit exclaimed as he put an arm around Yuuri's shoulders, paralleling the action of his Swiss partner-in-crime, who put his own arm around Victor's shoulders. 

     "Where did Yuri and Otabek go?" Chris asked as he looked around. "I could've sworn they were here," he added with a frown. 

     "Somewhere where Yurio can't pick a fight with every person in sight," Victor said with a laugh, "but let's go find them so you can take a selfie."

    As Chris and Phichit walk ahead of Victor and Yuuri, Yuuri couldn't help the smile the overcame him. Victor seemed to notice. Victor gave him a smile in return. Maybe Yuuri had messed up, but it may perhaps be the best mistake he's ever made. 


End file.
